MAIN BACTERIAL AGENTS INVOLVED IN GASTROENTERITIS IN PIGLETS IN THE MATERNITY PHASE

Abstract

Pig farming is one of the most important sectors of livestock farming in Brazil. With the increase in technification advancements in pig farming, sanitary challenges have been intensified, causing a significant damage to the productivity. Gastroenteritis that affects piglets causes substantial economic losses in the swine industry. This project aims to collect data on the main bacteria involved in gastroenteritis that affects piglets during the maternity phase in the city of Toledo, Paraná state. For the microbiological examination, intestinal contents were collected and placed in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI), then incubated at 37°C for 24 to 48 hours. Subsequently, the samples were streaked onto Petri dishes containing Blood Agar (BA), MacConkey Agar (MA), and Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (EMB). Immediately, one BA plate was transferred to an anaerobic incubator at 37°C for 24 hours, while the remaining three plates were incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24 hours. Biochemical tests were performed to determine the genus of the colonies. For histopathology, fragments of the small intestine, large intestine, and mesenteric lymph node were fixed in 10% formalin, processed using the dehydration and paraffin embedding technique, and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. The microbiological results showed 22 positive samples for Escherichia coli, 18 positive samples for Salmonella spp., and 7 positive samples for Clostridium spp. The histological examination revealed intestinal lesions such as hyperplasia of goblet cells, acute enteritis, villous fusion, etc. In all samples, some bacterial agents were isolated, being E. coli being the most prevalent. Furthermore, all samples exhibited similar histopathological lesions.